Written by Amina Niasse and Manas Mishra
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Health insurers are reevaluating executive risks following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Wednesday, and United Health and rival CVS Health removed photos of their executives from their websites after the shooting.
UnitedHealthCare is part of UnitedHealth Group, the largest insurance company in the United States. CVS operates Aetna, another top insurance company.
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Mr. Thompson was killed in what police described as a “targeted” attack as he was entering the Hilton Hotel for the company's annual investor conference. The suspect, whose crime was recorded on video, remains at large, but New York City police said the motive for the killing was unknown.
Robert D'Amico, founder of Sierra One Consulting, who previously worked for the FBI, said the photo deletions “have made these companies more vulnerable to people like me who are experts in how easy it is to identify and find executives.” I'm listening to what the house is saying.” ”
UnitedHealth removed photos of Thompson and other executives from its website Wednesday. A spokesperson did not respond to questions about the motive. CVS removed photos of all of its executives on Thursday. The company declined to comment.
D'Amico and another security expert said they constantly assess risk to executives based on news events and the business the company is conducting, and they recommend that companies strengthen physical security for executives. He said he was looking forward to it.
Glenn Kucera, president of Enhanced Protection Services at security firm Allied Universal, said the healthcare industry has spent the past 18 months exploring new security measures in the face of escalating conflict and the potential for violent crime. Ta.
Before the shootings, most of the risk assessment efforts were targeted at medical practices and other health care providers, which have faced increased hostility from the public since the coronavirus pandemic.
The increased demand for protection in hospitals and medical facilities is consistent with most customer-facing industries, said Garrett Seibold, chief content and communications officer at the International Security League.
The risk assessment includes searching social media to determine whether threats have been made, but the circumstances surrounding Thompson have not been made public, Kucera said.
Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News on Wednesday that she had received threats related to Thompson's work and “coverage,” but said she did not know the details. A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare had no immediate comment on possible threats against Thompson.
“There are going to be a lot of executives who say, 'Hey, this could happen to me. We should seriously consider our security protocols moving forward,'” Kucera said.
D'Amico said he expects company boards to reevaluate their executive safety plans.
This includes asking for an evaluation of the security details to be implemented while weighing costs. People like billionaire Elon Musk are said to be around 20 people every day.
He pointed to angry social media posts in the immediate aftermath of Thompson's murder that appeared to show people verbally attacking health insurance companies and employees.
“Healthcare companies are going to look at that and realize there's going to be even more hatred against them and their executives,” D'Amico said.
Consumer dissatisfaction with U.S. health insurance has been high for years, leading to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, commonly known as Obamacare. This year, there has been talk of increased use of medical management, with insurers struggling to contain costs and making it more difficult to receive prompt coverage for services such as surgeries and drugs.
It's unclear whether Thompson's work played a role in his death, but the shooting has brought attention to growing tensions with the medical community.
Cigna, Elevance, Centene, and Molina did not respond to requests for comment about whether they are currently making or have already made security changes.
The health insurance company did not detail its spending on executive security in filings with financial regulators.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Huemer and Jonathan Oatis)
